*Go Forth and Tell by Breanna J. McDaniel

Lively and inspirational, Go Forth and Tell shows a woman who took her calling as a storyteller seriously.

Go Forth and Tell: The Life of Augusta Baker, Librarian and Master Storyteller by Breanna J. McDaniel and illustrated by April Harrison. Dial Books, 2024. 40 pages.

• Reading Level: Picture books, ages 6-10
• Recommended For: Ages 6 and up

“Augusta knew that her calling was to be in front of a crowd, raising her voice and guiding children of all ages through the wide and wonderful spaces of her stories.”

Those “stories” were from her grandmother and others, and she’d grown up hearing them. When Augusta grew up, she worked as a librarian in Harlem. Many of her patrons were young Black children, and she realized that the library’s collection didn’t have any books about Black kids! Augusta set out to change that. She wanted all the children coming to her library to have access to books about people like them. Her young patrons included future authors like James Baldwin and Audre Lorde!

Augusta began curating collections of books by and about Black people, like those of John Steptoe, Virginia Hamilton, and Tom Feelings. She also continued telling those stories she felt called to share, wherever she went. Augusta become so renowned for her storytelling, she ended up at the University of South Carolina as the “Storyteller-in-Residence,” a job created just for her!

Art and text combine in this excellent picture book biography to tell an exuberant story of an exuberant life. The author actually met Augusta Baker (see the back matter!), and the text reads like an homage to wonderful mentor. Mixed-media illustrations showcase a larger than life heroine who set out to meet a need, all the while aware of her life’s calling. This book earned a Coretta Scot King Illustrator Honor.

Bottom Line: Go Forth and Tell is a lively portrait of a woman who took her calling as a storyteller seriously. May we all do likewise with our own callings!

*indicates a starred review.

Recommended Reading at Redeemed Reader

• Book Review: How Do You Spell Unfair? by Carole Boston Weatherford about a determined young (Black) spelling bee champion
• Resource: Black History Month Nonfiction Booklist
• Book Review: Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad: solid biography for middle grade readers of another woman who followed her calling

We are participants in the Amazon LLC affiliate program; purchases you make through affiliate links like the one below may earn us a commission. Read more here.

Buy this book on amazon.